Tuesday the 1^st of June 1999

The Chichester Enigma : Cogidubnus Unmasked

By D. A. Beaufort

In 1723, an incomplete slab of Purbeck marble bearing a Roman inscription was found below ground at Chichester in West Sussex where it is now displayed under glass outside the Assembly Rooms in North Street. The tablet was broken during recovery and poorly repaired, which has since hindered transcription, but it clearly records the dedication of a temple to Neptune and Minerva by a group of craftsmen, and by the authority of the hitherto unknown --- Claudius Cogidubnus.

There has since been much speculation as to the identity, status and life-span of this obviously important individual. For many years, historians accepted an early interpretation of the inscription which described Cogidubnus as 'King and Legate in Britain' but in 1979 a comprehensive account was compiled by J.E. Bogaers in 'King Cogidubnus in Chichester: Another Reading of RIB 91 (Britannia X) with the reinterpretation 'Great King in Britain'. No further evidence has emerged, and apart from the tablet there is only one allusion by Tacitus (Agricola 14) to Cogidumnus which is generally accepted by historians as an alternative spelling of Cogidubnus:-

"quaedam civitates Cogidumno regi donatae (is ad nostram usque memoriam fidissimus mansit), vetere ac iam pridem recepta populi Romani consuetudine, ut haberet instrumenta servitutis et reges".

--- " certain states were given to Cogidumnus King (who according to our own records remained thoroughly loyal) reflecting the long established Roman custom of having even kings as instruments of servitude".

However, this small passage yields important clues to the person behind the name. Firstly, he must be well-known since Tacitus offers no explanation relevant to an obscure British king. Secondly, he may be Roman for although he was given certain 'civitates' he remained 'thoroughly loyal', presumably to Rome and not to any Romano-British pact which would have been specified were he British. Thirdly, the word 'regi' following 'Cogidumno’ matches the arrangement on the tablet, implying that REX is part of his title. Lastly, there is a reason for the inconsistency of spelling between Cogidubnus and Cogidumnus which is key. There are also two clues on the tablet; firstly a reference to DOMUS

DIVINAE or 'Divine House' which represents the family of a deified emperor, dating the temple to either the Julio-Claudian dynasty ending with the death of Nero in AD 68 or to the later Flavian dynasty commencing with the death and deification of Vespasian in AD 79. Secondly, the word BRIT, assumed to denote BRITANNIA, may have another meaning. Thus the assembled clues to the identity of Cogidubnus are as follows: he is important, well-known, referred to as REX and associated with BRIT; he has remained loyal to Rome despite receiving the submission of various states, and his authority is linked to the 'Divine House' of a period before AD 68 or after AD 79, indicating that he is Roman.

The temple to Neptune and Minerva can therefore have been authorised by only one man: Tiberius Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus, known as the emperor Claudius I, for the words COGIDUBNUS and COGIDUMNUS are both contractions of Latin COGI-DUOMINUS followed by REX, meaning Combined Emperor-King, from the verb COGERE = to unite or combine, and DUOMINUS (later DOMINUS) = lord, master, emperor. However, Tacitus renders the written contraction of COGI-DUOMINUS as COGIDUMNUS whereas the author of the tablet inscribes the spoken contraction as COGIDUBNUS, where the letter M so closely followed by N is vocalised as a B. The relevant and still extant original lettering on the tablet has never been in dispute:-

The cognomen 'Britannicus' was awarded to Claudius by the Roman senate for his conquest of Britain in AD 43: it was one of their highest honours granted for some remarkable achievement. He would have been the first emperor to assume such a hereditary title, had he not elected to transfer it to his son Drusus (AD 41-55) who became the first and last of that name, being murdered following the assassination of his father. Claudius did not celebrate his triumph and associated honours until AD 44, so the temple to Neptune and Minerva would have been dedicated between then and his death in AD 54, with the earlier period more likely when ‘Britannicus’ still referred to Claudius. Its exact location is unknown, but the inscription implies that Chichester was one of the ‘civitates’ that embraced Roman rule, probably becoming the capital of an area recorded in the Antonine Itinerary as A REGNO but locally referred to as REGNUM. Corroboration that this is the kingdom of Claudius lies in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, reference to CISSECEASTER which derives from CAESAR-CASTRA, meaning Caesar’s fort.

The precise link between Claudius and Chichester is obscure: many historians have assumed that a local British king called Verica invited Roman intervention. However, according to the Greek historian Cassius Dio who wrote his 'History of the Romans' in the third century AD, it was Bericus (Berikos) from the Catuvellauni tribe of the Colchester region who petitioned Claudius for Roman aid. An account is given by Robert Graves in 'Claudius The God' 1934, that his elder brother had earlier failed in his attempt to seize the throne from their father Cunobelin and so fled to France to negotiate an invasion with Caligula, who had him killed; when Cunobelin died in AD 41, Bericus became king but was rejected by his two remaining brothers Togodumnus and Caractacus, ending in civil war, so he sought assistance from the new emperor Claudius in Rome: during the subsequent invasion, both Bericus and Togodumnus died on the battlefields of Kent. Yet Verica from the Chichester region may also have had good reason to seek Roman protection. His father Commius had been made king of the Atrebates in Gaul by Julius Caesar, but had led a revolt and decamped with his followers to southern Britain where he gradually carved out a kingdom extending across Berkshire, Surrey, The Isle of Wight and parts of Hampshire and Sussex. (see W.E.P. Done 'Looking Back in Sussex' 1953). When he died c.20BC, his domain was divided between his sons Verica, Tincommius and Eppillus, but at some stage, Verica became ruler of the Sussex region. We have no information as to the situation at the time of the invasion, but Verica would have been fairly old if still alive, since his father's promotion by Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BC) was at least 87 years earlier. However, many coins of father and sons have surfaced locally, and one in particular may be relevant, recorded by Alec Down in 'Roman Chichester'1988. It is a silver minim bearing the name Verica and (we are told) an ox-head, which more resembles a death’s-head: the reverse displays a tomb flanked by the letters C and F which may indicate that Verica, Commi Filius (son of Commius), is now dead and entombed. If so, the Atrebates may have welcomed the enforced peace of Roman rule, to which they were no strangers, having originated from Roman Gaul; other coin evidence also suggests that they were trading with the continent.

However, the Isle of Wight was not at that time receptive to Roman rule, since it was subjugated by the future emperor Vespasian when commanding the Second Legion (Legio II Augusta) in preparation for his conquest of the south-west, following the Roman victory at Colchester under Aulus Plautius. The Chichester area offered an advantage for this attack, supported by the local tradition that Vespasian had a base at Fishbourne, about a mile to the west of Chichester. Nearby are the famous remains of a large Roman edifice recorded by the excavator Professor Barry Cunliffe in 'Fishbourne, A Roman Palace and Its Garden' 1971. The evidence reveals that it began as a large timber construction dating to the first decade following the invasion, to be replaced by a fine masonry ‘proto-palace’ early in the 60s, which was eventually incorporated into a much greater structure between AD 75-80. These three phases of activity are contemporary with the reigns of Claudius, Nero and Vespasian, all of whom are associated with the area: Claudius is recorded on the Neptune and Minerva stone, Vespasian commanded the Second Legion nearby, and Nero was venerated on another Chichester slab of Purbeck marble found in 1740. Although it was lost soon after, the inscription had been recorded and the tablet dated to AD 58-60. It was a dedication to Nero, displaying his illustrious and divine lineage as 'son of the Divine Claudius' down to ‘great-great grandson of the Divine Augustus’ etc. But Nero had only become emperor through the machinations of his mother Agrippina, who had married her Uncle Claudius and then persuaded him to officially adopt her son Nero, later having both Claudius and Britannicus murdered to make way for her seventeen year old protégé. Yet Claudius had conquered Britain and was therefore part of the imperial thread which ran through the development of Fishbourne Roman Palace: he had needed to consolidate his new and unexpected position as emperor by some major achievement, and he succeeded incredibly well. Britain became the most northern province of Rome and remained so for over 350 years, but Claudius has left his hallmark on Chichester: from the myth of the tribal king Cogidubnus rises the victorious TIBERIUS CLAUDIUS COMBINED EMPEROR - GREAT KING BRITANNICUS !

DERE STREET LINE CORRECTED

The Roman road Dere Street runs due north from Piercebridge and across the top of Brusselton Hill, NZ 206 249, where a Roman signal station is suspected. From this high point, the road follows the eastern edge of Brusselton Wood, which is a very steep gradient. A mile north of the highest point of Brusselton Wood, the Roman road does a peculiar thing, it alters course at the bottom of a valley. Alterations of headings of Roman roads are usually at high points. This alteration occurs at Fylands Bridge, NZ 205 268, where the Roman road makes a right turn of ten degrees from a heading of 360 degrees to 010 degrees, and then proceeds up the full length of Bishop Auckland Main Street. The Roman road then follows around the outside of the large bend of the River Wear below the Bishop's Palace, and crosses the River Gaunless close to its mouth just a few yards to the west of the Gaunless bridge, NZ 214 307. The Roman road then climbs the wood to the south-east of Binchester Roman fort, past the Roman well at the top of the wood, NZ 212 308, through the centre of the Roman fort and then on a north-westerly heading down towards the sewerage works where a Roman bridge spanned the River Wear at NZ 204 318. On the west side of the River Wear, the Roman road continues north-westerly for a few hundred yards following a line of trees, and crosses a gill via an embankment (NZ 198 322) just to the south-east of the Hunwick Equestrian Centre. The Roman road continues under the equestrian centre and just north of this centre, alters course right to north-north-west. This turn is a junction with a hitherto unknown Roman road coming up from the south. A few hundred yards further north, the combined Roman roads cross the Hunwick Gill, NZ 194 326, where the earth embankment of a Roman bridge still exists on the southern side of the gill.

The deviation of the Roman road at Fylands Bridge and subsequently up Bishop Auckland High Street and into Binchester is not Dere Street; it is a by-road and a loop which rejoins the TRUE DERE STREET just the north of the Hunwick Equestrian Centre. From Fylands Bridge, the True Dere Street, named by us Proto Dere Street, continues north without any alteration of heading, and has crossed the River Wear in the vicinity of Toronto, upstream from of the refurbished railway viaduct (now a road bridge). The old stone bridge just upstream from this viaduct seems to be on the same site as the Roman bridge. Surrounding the farm on the hill to the WNW of the old stone bridge are Roman-looking earthworks (NZ 203 303). There are reused Roman stones in the farm buildings. This farm is at the south end of Toronto village and it is highly likely that here lies a hitherto undiscovered major Roman fort.

To the north of this site, Proto Dere Street can be picked up along a hedge line and this runs all the way to the Equestrian Centre at Hunwick, where it is joined by the Roman road coming in from the south-east, from Binchester Roman fort. Binchester Roman fort is therefore not on Dere Street, but on a Roman branch-loop

which leaves Dere Street at Fylands Bridge and rejoins it just north of the Hunwick Equestrian Centre. Binchester Roman fort therefore may not be "Vinovia" as the identification of Binchester as Vinovia depends upon its mention in the Antonine Itinerary.

In the large loop of the River Wear to the south of Binchester is Flats Farm and from the air, this appears to be standing on a Roman-type earthwork. Also, a crop mark of an infilled waterway can be seen leaving the river and proceeding south to this building. There is also a Roman canal at Binchester. This is now a mainly dry waterway and consists of typical Roman angled straight lengths. It is too high up the contours to be an old course of the River Ganuless, an excuse which has been used in the past to get rid of unwelcome evidence. A full map of the waterway, drawn by Jeremiah Dixon in 1772 can be seen in the Bishop's Palace, or on p247 of ON THE TRAIL OF THE LEGIONS (R Selkirk) 1995.

An aerial photograph taken by an unknown RAF pilot c1930 shows the Roman (loop) road leaving Binchester fort to the south-east and following the hedge-line around the large bend of the river. This defeats all the previous arguments about this Roman road crossing the River Wear twice, or the other school of thought about the whole bend of the river migrating eastwards. (Photo p 65 in ON THE TRAIL OF THE LEGIONS).

Roman tiles found at Binchester are stamped "NUM CON (Numerus Concangios) a Roman unit stationed at Chester-le-Street. It is likely that these heavy cargoes arrived at Binchester by barge.

As previously mentioned, North from Toronto, the newly discovered Roman road, Proto Dere Street is followed by a hedge line and a public footpath all the way to the Hunwick Equestrian Centre. At NZ 197 322, Proto Dere Street has crossed a gill and there are scores of tons of stones, some of them worked, obviously Roman, lying in the gill. It looks as if there has been some kind of fortification as well as a bridge at this point. Just a few yards further north, at NZ 197 324, in a strip wood, the public footpath just to the west of the equestrian centre, is right on top of Proto Dere Street. An excavation is not necessary: rainwater has washed the soil off the road and a perfect Roman road surface lies exposed.

We have now renamed the Roman road through Bishop Auckland, and Binchester Roman fort, "the Binchester Loop." Once again our history books will have to be altered.

The Roman road which comes in to the south of Fylands Bridge, from the Barnard Castle direction, was thought to have terminated at its junction with Dere Street. Directly opposite, a farm track, which heads for South Church, is now known to be a Roman road too. Where it goes after South Church is not yet known.

It is also interesting to note that the Saxon church at Escomb seems to be standing on a Roman-type earthwork. Roman pottery and coins are constantly found at Escomb. I have never believed that the reused Roman stones in Escomb came from Binchester. Even so this argument is further defeated by the presence of Toronto fort being much closer. A suspected Roman road leaves Toronto and heads for Escomb, but that is another story…….

The Emperor Hadrian died in 138 AD and was succeeded by Antoninus Pius. For some reason in the early AD 140s, Antoninus made the decision to move the frontier in Britain further north from Hadrian's Wall to the Firth of Clyde and Firth of Forth Isthmus. He did not visit Britain himself, but directed his Governor in Britain to advance the army north, taking over the Scottish lowlands and what is now Northumberland, abandoning Hadrian's Wall and forts except for a caretaker force. A wall with forts was to be erected on the line used 60 years earlier by Julius Agricola, rebuilding on at least four of his forts.

Why Antoninus made this decision is very unclear, the tribes occupying that area had been undoubtedly under Roman control. There were a number of occupied forts in the area and in all probability the tribes immediately north of Hadrian's Wall were friendly and engaged in trade with the Roman army. Roman historians have written virtually nothing regarding the advance into Scotland in the early AD 140s or the reason why. The only reference is in 'The Life of Antoninus Pius' which records that Antoninus "through his legate Loilius Urbicus, pushed back the Barbarians and built a new wall of turf", but there is no evidence of any barbarian attack that would justify this. The action was probably taken by the new Emperor to gain prestige in Rome and win over his army chiefs in Britain who had seen little military activity for about 20 years.

The wall, built on the orders of Antoninus Pius, ran for 37 miles from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde. It was a turf-built wall, probably about 10 ft high and erected on a 14 ft wide stone foundation. The turf wall would be topped with a wooden palisade and walkway with a ditch 12 ft deep and 40 ft wide in front of it. Unlike Hadrian's Wall, which had a large fort about every 5 miles, the Antonine Wall had a fort approximately every 2 miles which varied in size from 7 acres to half an acre, the largest being at Mumrills and the smallest at Duntocher. Most of the forts had areas of civilian settlement attached to them similar to the Hadrianic wall forts. Civilian traders must have established these settlements, shortly after completion of the forts. A big attraction would be the soldiers' pay, there being very little in the area to spend it on. Very soon, taverns, brothels, shops, etc would be established outside the forts, obviously received with blessings by the camp commandants. Also, although against the rules of the Roman Army, soldiers met and married the local girls who must have been allowed to set up house in the settlement outside the fort. Some of these civilian settlements were virtually small towns, such as at Chesters on Hadrian's Wall and Corbridge. Further south, cities like York, Lincoln, Colchester, London and many others later sprang up around the original legionary fortresses.

Parts of the Antonine Wall and its forts are still visible in many places and well worth a visit. There is little evidence of any major happenings between the early AD 140s when the wall was built and the year AD 155. About this time there is evidence of more trouble, an inscribed stone dredged from the River Tyne reads: